First Weld County couple takes part in historic day of civil unions

JOSHUA POLSON/jpolson@greeleytribune.com
Lori Kuzma, left, looks over her civil union license with her partner Cory Faussone Wednesday morning at the Weld County Clerk and Recorder's Office in Greeley. Kuzma and Faussone were the first to sign a civil union license in Weld County.

JOSHUA POLSON/jpolson@greeleytribune.com
Lori Kuzma signs a civil union license Wednesday at the Weld County Clerk and Recorder's Office. Wednesday was the first day that Colorado's civil union law went into effect.

JOSHUA POLSON/jpolson@greeleytribune.com
Tony Trevino, outreach coordinator for the Weld County Clerk and Recorder's Office, puts up a new sign for the cost of marriage licenses and civil unions in the Greeley office.

In its place, he posted a new sign: “Marriage Licenses & Civil Unions.”

On the first day that Colorado’s civil unions law took effect, Weld County offices were silent until 9:15 a.m., when Cory Faussone and Lori Kuzma walked through the doors. The pair said they meant to get there right at 8 a.m., but they were both sick, which delayed them. While it didn’t seem to bother them, it was the first in a string of first-time hiccups for the couple’s official union on Wednesday, which was the first in Weld County.

Faussone signed her name in the wrong place on one of the documents, and just before they took an oath, the women spotted a spelling error on their certificate — the town of Windsor, where the couple lives, had been spelled “Windosr.”

Just as Trevino sent the correctly spelled certificate to the printer, the lights went out — as they had for 35,000 homes in Greeley — thanks to a power outage.

So, in the dark, Faussone and Kuzma shared their story.

From Nebraska and Cheyenne, both went to school at Colorado State University. But Faussone and Kuzma didn’t meet until later, when they both worked at the Weld County Jail.

“We didn’t hit it off right away,” Faussone said. “I just thought she wasn’t very nice. Then, we became friends, and that was it.”

Kuzma said the initial feeling was mutual.

“I didn’t like her, either,” she said to a sprinkling of laughs from employees at the clerk and recorder’s office, many of whom congratulated the pair. One baked cupcakes for the occasion, which Kuzma and Faussone enjoyed as they waited for the lights to turn on.

The women said they probably wouldn’t do much to celebrate the day — as far as they are concerned, they were married five years ago in Laporte. Faussone’s brother joined the couple at the Tapestry House, a classic Victorian venue where the pair walked down the grand stairs and stood beneath a quaint, white gazebo.

“We’re just excited we can put something on paper now,” Faussone said.

The historic day for gay and lesbian couples across Colorado allows them many of the same rights as married couples, including visitation rights at the hospital and joint filing of state taxes.

Passage of the law, which Gov. John Hickenlooper signed in March, was hailed by many Colorado politicians, including Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and state House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, a gay Denver Democrat.

“Today, Colorado truly represents the long way we have come since being known as the ‘hate state,’” Ferrandino said in a statement. “Now, all Colorado families are legally recognized for the love, support and contributions they give to their communities, and all Colorado families will be stronger because of it.”

Weld County offices weren’t quite as bustling as Denver and Boulder counties, which opened their doors at midnight to issue licenses overnight. At the end of the day, Weld saw six gay and lesbian couples who legally sanctioned their relationships, five in the Greeley office and one in the southwest Weld County office in Del Camino.

Trevino said he and others in the clerk and recorder’s office had been tweaking paperwork, stocking the printer and ironing out details to prepare for civil unions for weeks.

“It’s funny,” he said. “We ran through this so many times ... There’s so many little things, but you don’t think of the power.”

The minor delay didn’t seem to bother Faussone and Kuzma, who waited patiently for their certificate — with the correct spelling of “Windsor” and all.